A pub landlord was stunned when he received a £616,776 phone bill - for one month.

Jack Harding, 38, who runs The Olive Branch pub at Yapton, near Arundel, immediately called BT to complain.

It would take someone ringing a £1-a-minute premium line 14 months of non-stop calls to rack up a bill of that size.

Mr Harding, a former winner in The Argus Best Pub Landlord awards, said: "I couldn't believe it when I opened the bill. I had not used the phone any more than usual and neither had anyone else.

"I nearly had a heart attack on the spot. It was a real shock.

"The worst bit for me was when I eventually got through to BT and they told me there hadn't been a mistake and the bill was correct.

"That was the most unbelievable part - when they tried to tell me I'd run up this bill of more than half a million quid on my phone in less than four weeks.

"I like a good chat but this was ridiculous. It is not as if the kids have been making lots of calls. They are only three and four years old.

"Even if you rang someone and left your phone off the hook for a month it would not even come close to costing more than half a million pounds."

About three hours after Mr Harding called BT, he got a call back from the firm admitting a member of staff had filled in details on the bill incorrectly.

Mr Harding, who has never had a phone bill over £100 before, said: "I'm not too bothered about it now I've got it sorted but what would happen if a pensioner got that sort of bill through?

"It would have given them a heart attack."

A BT spokesman admitted there had been a mistake. He said: "A member of staff filled in the wrong details in the wrong box. The bill should have been £92.38.

"This was human error and as soon as we realised the mistake we sent a correct counterfoil out to our customer. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Last year Hangleton pensioner Peter Willows was sent a £500 mobile phone bill despite never having used a mobile in his life.

Earlier this year another pensioner, Mary Frankel, from Hove, received a bill for £348 worth of phone calls she says she never made.